Mortgage Rates Push Upward

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Average fixed-rate mortgages climbed slightly this week from their 2016 lows, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market report.

"U.S. Treasury yields moved up in response to the Fed minutes release, which kept alive the possibility of a summer rate-hike,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Mortgage rates followed, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increasing 6 basis points to 3.64 percent. Despite this increase, May ends the month averaging only 3.60 percent, 1 basis point below April's average, and the lowest monthly average in 3 years. Home buyers are taking advantage of these historically low rates with April's new-home sales increasing by 16.6 percent, the fastest pace since January 2008."

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending May 26:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.64 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 3.58 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.87 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.89 percent, with an average 0.5 point, up from last week’s 2.81 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.11 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.87 percent, with an average 0.5 point, up from last week’s 2.80 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.90 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac